Module 8 Hypnosis and Drugs

HYPNOSIS Hypnosis definition procedure in which a researcher, clinician, or hypnotists suggests that a person will experience changes in sensation, perceptions, thoughts, feelings, or behaviors Who can be hypnotized? not correlated with introversion, extraversion, social position, intelligence, willpower, sex, compliance, gullibility, being highly motivated, or being a placebo responder

HYPNOSIS (CONT.) Who is susceptible? individuals with the remarkable ability to respond to imaginative suggestions best known test: Stanford Hypnotic Susceptibility Scale

HYPNOSIS (CONT.) Theories of hypnosis Altered States Theory of Hypnosis holds that hypnosis puts a person into an altered state of consciousness, during which the person is disconnected from reality, which results in being able to experience and respond to various suggestions Sociocognitive Theory of hypnosis behaviors observed during hypnosis result not from being hypnotized, but rather from having the special ability of responding to imaginative suggestions and social pressures

HYPNOSIS (CONT.) Behaviors Hypnotic analgesia Reduces pain and anxiety (dental tx) Posthypnotic suggestion Age regression Posthypnotic amnesia

DRUGS: OVERVIEW Reasons for use include obtaining pleasure, joy, and euphoria; meeting social expectations; giving in to peer pressure; dealing with or escaping stress, anxiety, and tension; avoiding pain; and achieving altered state of consciousness Psychoactive drugs affect nervous system may alter consciousness and awareness, influence how we sense and perceive things, and modify our moods, feelings, emotions, and thoughts

DRUGS: OVERVIEW (CONT.) Addiction 3 C’s of addiction Compulsion Control Consequences 1957 AMA declared alcoholism a disease 3 criteria known etiology known progression of symptoms known outcome

DRUGS: OVERVIEW (CONT.) Tolerance after a person uses a drug repeatedly over a period of time, the original dose of the drug no longer produces the desired effect so that a person must take increasingly larger doses of the drug to achieve the same behavioral effect Dependency refers to a change in the nervous system so that a person now needs to take the drug to prevent the occurrence of painful withdrawal symptoms Withdrawal symptoms painful physical and psychological symptoms that occur after a drug-dependent person stops using the drug

DRUGS: OVERVIEW (CONT.) Effects on nervous system drugs affect neurotransmitters Neurotransmitters chemical keys that search for and then either open or close chemical locks to either excite or inhibit neighboring neurons, organs, or muscles Mimicking some drugs produce their effects by mimicking the way the neurotransmitters work Reuptake some drugs block reuptake

DRUGS: OVERVIEW (CONT.) Effects on nervous system some drugs directly activate the brain’s reward/pleasure center also activated when one eats food, has sex, and does other pleasurable activities

STIMULANTS Definition stimulants, including cocaine, amphetamines, caffeine, and nicotine, increase activity of the central nervous system and result in heightened alertness, arousal, euphoria, and decreased appetite and fatigue

STIMULANTS (CONT.) Caffeine drug mild stimulant, produces moderate physiological and psychological arousal, including decreased fatigue and drowsiness, feelings of alertness and improved reaction times Nervous system caffeine belongs to the chemical class called xanthines blocks certain receptors (adenosine receptors) in the brain mild physiological and psychological arousal

STIMULANTS (CONT.) Caffeine Dangers mild to heavy doses of caffeine can result in addiction and dependency similar to those produced by alcohol, nicotine, and cocaine (two cups of coffee) higher doses result in depression, tension, and anxiety

STIMULANTS (CONT.) Nicotine drug stimulant that triggers the brain’s reward/pleasure center to produce good feelings low doses improve attention, concentration, and short term memory regular use causes addiction and dependency leads to withdrawal

Freud's drug addiction? 20 cigars/day STIMULANTS (CONT.) Nicotine nervous system stimulates the production of dopamine also stops other controlling cells from turning off the pleasure areas Dangers very addicting causes sexual problems including impotency withdrawal symptoms range in severity and include nervousness, irritability, difficulty in concentrating, sleep disturbances, and strong craving 20 cigars/day

Smoking and Drinking

ALCOHOL History and use first brewery appeared in Egypt in about 3700 B.C. national and CA legal definition of being drunk is 0.08 (after possibly 3-4 drinks) effects the nervous system and results in behavioral and emotional changes

ALCOHOL (CONT.) drug ethyl alcohol is a psychoactive drug classified as a depressant depresses activity of the central nervous system alcohol seems like a stimulant but later depresses physiological and psychological responses

ALCOHOL (CONT.) Nervous system affects many parts of the nervous system stimulates GABA neural receptors, leads to feeling less anxious and less inhibited also impairs the anterior cingulate cortex, monitors the control of motor actions drinkers fail to recognize their impaired motor performance (driving) high doses: depresses vital breathing reflexes in the medulla (brain stem) may lead to death

ALCOHOL (CONT.) Dangers hangover includes upset stomach, dizziness, fatigue, headache, and depression repeated and heavy drinking can result in tolerance, addiction, and dependency withdrawal symptoms shaking, nausea, anxiety, diarrhea, hallucinations, and disorientation another serious problem, blackout occur after heavy and repeated drinking

ALCOHOL (CONT.) Dangers (cont.) blackouts person seems to behave normally but does not remember what happened when sober repeated and heavy drinking can also result in liver damage, alcoholism, and brain damage

ALCOHOL (CONT.) Risk factors genetic risk factors refer to inherited biases for predispositions that increase the potential for alcoholism genetic factors contribute 50 to 60% to the reasons a person becomes an alcoholic

Beer and Ball: Student Binge Drinking

MARIJUANA Use and effects Most widely used illegal drug medical marijuana can be effective in treating nausea and vomiting associated with chemotherapy, appetite loss in AIDS patients, eye disease (glaucoma), muscle spasticity in patients with multiple sclerosis, and some forms of pain gateway effect says that using marijuana leads young people to try harder drugs

MARIJUANA (CONT.) psychoactive drug whose primary active ingredient is THC (tetrahydrocannabinol) depending on the user’s state of mind, marijuana can either heighten or distort pleasant or unpleasant experiences, moods, or feelings

MARIJUANA (CONT.) THC receptors are located throughout the brain, including the hippocampus, cerebral cortex, limbic system, cerebellum, and basal ganglia the brain itself makes a chemical similar to THC (anandamide) currently under study

MARIJUANA (CONT.) Dangers can cause temporary changes in cognitive functioning can temporarily decrease secretion of various hormones and effectiveness of the immune system respiratory problems like bronchitis and asthma high doses: may cause toxic psychoses, including delusions, paranoia, and feelings of terror

Drugs, Brain, & Behavior Brain structures that may correspond with behaviors: Thalamus: hallucinations, impaired decision-making Hypothalamus: nausea, decreased appetite Amygdala: Intense emotions, anxiety relief Hippocampus: impaired decision-making Pons: slowing of time, relaxed euphoria, drowsiness, alertness/wakefulness Cerebellum: relaxation of body muscles, tremors Medulla: increased heart beat, coma, death